Oslo knocks London off European hospitality top spot

Latest data HRS has revealed that major cities across the UK, including London, have seen a decline in average hotel room rates when looking at quarter two 2016 compared with the same period of 2015.

Having held the top spot in Europe for the last few years, London has been knocked off its perch as the most expensive capital to stay in by Oslo, with rates showing a seven per cent decline on the same period last year.

However, data for the majority of capitals in Europe and internationally showed that the average cost of a hotel room per night is on the up, bar a small handful of destinations.

While London continues to have the most expensive hotel rooms in the UK at an average room rate of £148, Manchester takes second place with a room per night costing £100 – two per cent lower than the same period last year.

Taking third place is Bristol, offering rooms at £98 on average – a ten per cent drop compared with 2016.

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Meanwhile, despite the excitement surrounding the Games in Rio, the cities that experienced the largest decrease in hotel room rates are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janerio.

Jon West, managing director of HRS for the UK & Ireland, commented: “It will be interesting to monitor how rates are affected during the Games this summer for Rio to see if these prices rise as hoteliers look to maximise spend by sports fans visiting during this time.

“The quarter three 2016 results will certainly be telling.”

When comparing data from quarter to in 2016 with the same period in 2015, hotel prices have fared better across Europe with almost 50 per cent of cities recording an increase.

The top European destinations that saw the highest percentage increase for average hotel room rates include Oslo (70 per cent), Stockholm (15 per cent) and Helsinki (14 per cent).

Talking about room rate development in these Scandinavian countries, West said: “It is possible that the demand has gone up for hotels in these cities as they are considered safer places to travel to than mainland Europe.

“With recent terrorist events and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, businesses could be looking for alternative places to stay.”

Meanwhile, Istanbul has suffered the most with the highest decrease in hotel room rates, showing an almost 20 per cent decline and an average night’s stay costing just £65.

Moscow and Milan aren’t far behind with average rates dropping 16 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.